Cell Phone Tower Topples On Truck

[LineNoise]

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/cell.phone.tower.2.718138.html

WOODRIDGE, Ill. (STNG) ― No injuries have been reported Wednesday morning after a cell phone tower fell onto a tanker truck carrying a hazardous chemical in the southwestern suburbs.

Police responded to the crash just south of the intersection of Lemont Road and 103rd Street about 9 a.m., according to Woodridge Police Department spokeswoman Carrie Noe.

Two vehicles crashed and one of the vehicles veered off into a ditch, where it struck a support cable attached to a cell phone tower, causing the tower to fall, Noe said.

The tower landed on a southbound tanker truck that was "in the wrong place at the wrong time," she said.

It landed on the main cargo area of the truck, which was carrying benzene, a hazardous and flammable chemical, she said.

Inspectors have determined the truck's load was not compromised but continue to inspect it.

Police are currently working to determine what company owns the tower.

Lemont Road between 101st Street and International Parkway remains closed as crews continue to clean up the site as of 11:30 a.m., Noe said.

No injuries have been reported. Citations are expected but have not yet been issued, she said.

I just thought you guys might find this interesting. I've watched this tower out of my office window for a couple years now, ever since we moved into this building. I've watched guys up there in a blizzard, ironically adding guy wires.

This picture is from a few months ago when that tanker tipped over on I55 and was on fire.

This isn't a cell phone tower, i'm no expert, but it sure doesn't look like one to me. There is a pipeline easement that runs directly under this tower to the east and west. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with that. There's a little silver shack (really, looks like a run down shack) that houses the equipment. For some reason I always felt this was going to come down.

http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/AsrSearch/asrRegistration.jsp?regKey=127775

 

[W9WSS]

Woodridge Tower Collapse

A motorist made a U-turn in the middle of the roadway, causing another vehicle to collide, then strike the guy wires from a cell tower located on the S/W corner of the intersection. As the tower came crashing down, it fell on a tanker truck carrying benzene. Luckily, as the tower fell, it went in between the cab of the truck and the actual tank, ripping the protective cover but not compromising the highly-flammable cargo. The roadways in all directions were closed for the duration of the clean-up of the incident. There were no injuries, as had been improperly reported earlier.

 

[W9WSS]

Woodridge Tower Collapse (cont'd)

Here's a few more pics I took at the scene of the tower collapse yesterday. The Woodridge Police Command Trailer was deployed during the incident. Lemont ESDA / EMA, DuPage Sheriff, and Darien PD were also there, along with several cellular vendors to "clean up" the mess. The tower is owned by a leasing company, that rented space to the various communications companies. This tower was scheduled for "refurb" but I guess yesterday's incident was a little sooner than they expected!

 

[W9WSS]

Woodridge Tower Collapse (cont'd)

News choppers were aplenty in the sky, so were the news trucks at the scene. Lemont Road, 103rd St., and Internationale Pkwy were a mess.

 

[EngineerZ]

According to the FCC ASR database, the tower (ASR #1027183) was owned by Crown Castle. It looked like it was used by a couple paging carriers and a local broadband service provider using licensed 18 GHz radios. Callsigns of the licenses are KNNJ203, WPGT633, KNKO276, WQGS474, WQGS477. and WQID231.

--z

 

[N9YB]

If that is a CC tower, it most likely is a PiROD tower, which means is it solid rod.

I bet that made a mark.